Stronglifts with Resistance Bands

chrisb75

Hi all. I am interested in starting a heavy lifting program (Stronglifts 5x5), but I am having some issues:

1) I really need the flexibility to workout from Home. I am a Dad who has my two small kids 50% of the time. I work a lot, and have a girlfriend. Juggling all of these things and getting to a gym is problematic (I already do P90 sculpt 3X a week at home and do well with that)
2) I looked into starting a home gym but that is expensive, even if I make my own DIY power rack and bench, with weights I am looking around $350 to START. That is more than I can go now.
3) I live in an apartment so space is a premium
4) I travel a lot for my work

So these four things and the recommendation of another user here, led me to look at resistance bands. I can get resistance bands (for under $100) that will give me all the weight I need to get me to 300lbs. My questions are:

1) Is this a decent way to start?
2) If I start with this, and start buying the heavy weights piece by piece, can I make a smooth transition?

Help please!

gemiwing

Heya

Love my Stronglifts program. You're going to have some transition issues going from bands to bar- there's no way around it really. Different forms, different hand holds and different muscles being worked.

The Stronglifts PDF is definitely very 'gung ho' on getting a power rack, olympic weights- buy ALL the things!

Sure you can do bands- they travel well, most likely won't fall and harm a child (mostly), and are way more affordable.

Cons- your grip won't be ready for the bar- so when you do transfer you're going to have to deload most likely. Also- since the bands aren't plates- there's bound to be some bits of form that are different than their weighted cousins.

The choice really is up to you here.

Truth is- you're probably not going to go so high so fast that you can't do this in pieces.

Here's what I'd personally do (and am doing)
Buy weights you can afford and work from there.
Craigslist is going to be your new best friend. You don't have to start with olympic weights- you just don't. Walmart sells a standard barbell and a separate weight set. Look at thrift stores for mismatched weight plates. This is also why you may not want to buy an olympic bar just yet- the plates you find for cheap aren't going to likely BE olympic plates (the bar diameter is different).

Take the bands on the road for some extra but make the weights your main partner.

For safety- get two chairs and do squats between the seats of them. If you need to ditch- the chairs should hold about 250lbs each and be right around the right height. For bench presses- learn the Roll Of Shame (not as bad but watch your pelvic bone if you're pressing above 200lbs).

If you go with bands- then fear not- you can transition- you'll just need a bit of a deload as you relearn form.

MoreBean13

I agree about craigslist. Tons of people have exercise equipment they just want to get rid of.

I don't work out at home (except for flexibility stuff and abs). I need other people around to keep my competitive juices flowing. I have a membership at planet fitness and it's only $10 a month- it's not the best stocked gym in the world but it might be worth it to get a cheap membership somewhere for a few months while you're building your home gym.

I don't have an opinion about resistance bands or stronglifts. Just throwing my 2 cents in about gyms.